8 May 2017
Relative Stability is the name given to the quota allocation keys adopted as part of the CFP in 1983. It is widely acknowledged that the interests of the UK’s fishing industry did not occupy a particularly high place in the HMG’s priorities at the time and as a result, the UK’s Relative Stability allocations do not reflect a fair or reasonable share of the stocks which are fished in UK waters.
Our view is that as a matter of principle, as with any coastal state, the UK’s quota shares should reflect the resources present in our waters.
It may subsequently be in our interest to use some of these resources as currency to negotiate other fishing opportunities, or to secure access to European markets; but the baselines for a post- Brexit fisheries regime should be the renegotiation of the UK’s quota shares to reflect the resources located in UK waters.
As part of the recalibration of quota shares between the UK and EU we would expect The Hague Preference, or other mechanisms derived from the CFP, will to no longer be relevant to the UK.
It is our view that the UK’s quota of stocks shared with other countries should be based on a scientifically robust objective evaluation of the resources located in the respective EEZ.